Latest News
Bulungula Community Radio: The Voice in the Background of Community Life
For nearly 10 years, Bulungula Community Radio (BCR FM) has been a consistent and active presence in our community and region (and now, with streaming, even further!). Broadcasting live daily from 05h00–21h00 with the station playing audio throughout the day on air...
Creating 1,000 Local Jobs Through the Social Employment Fund: A Partnership with the Nosintu Gwebindlala Foundation
Employment is one of the most persistent challenges facing South Africa, with a national unemployment rate of over 30%, and the challenge is particularly acute in deep rural areas like ours. In our community, formal employment opportunities have historically been...
Bulungula College 2025 Matric Results and Reflections
We are extremely proud of 40 of Bulungula College’s newest Matriculants — an extraordinary achievement for these learners, their families, our school, and our community. This graduating class, our largest yet with 56 learners, achieved an overall pass rate of 71%. In...
Leadership Development and Succession Planning at Bulungula Incubator
In 2007, when the Bulungula Incubator was founded, there was no grand organisational plan or clear idea of what it would eventually become. Instead, it started as a crisis response. At the time, a third of babies in our community died from diarrhoea because there was...
When the Going Gets Tough: Reflections on a Challenging Matric Year
Updates like these are never easy to share, but we believe it’s important to reflect honestly on both the highs and the lows of our work. This year at Bulungula College, our Grade 12 class has been our most academically underperforming cohort to date. While we have...
Why Building Social Connections Matters for Our Rural Youth
When we launched the Job Skills and Entrepreneurship Programme (JSEP) in 2020, our aim was to support young people in transitioning from school into meaningful work, entrepreneurship, or further education. But early in the journey, we realised we needed to take a step...
Partnering with Eh!Woza to capture community stories through youth-led documentary
At the end of last year, Eh!Woza came to Bulungula to host a 10-day documentary workshop for young people in our community. It was an incredibly fun and different experience for our young people, who have had very little exposure to this kind of training and...
What exactly does Bulungula Incubator do?
If you've ever asked, "What exactly does Bulungula Incubator do?" and found yourself a bit confused after a mouthful of information thrown at you, you're not alone. We have a lot going on! BI is a place-based organisation, meaning we work directly in the communities...
From Bulungula to Higher Learning: The Sakha iKamva Tertiary and Career Guidance Programme
Before we opened Bulungula College (BC) in 2019, there was no high school in our area, leaving learners with few options to continue their education beyond Grade 9. The handful who were able to complete Matric had to study and live far from home. With the...
Job Recruitment Website is LIVE! Hire One of Our JSEP Graduates
We are excited to announce that our Job Skills and Entrepreneurship Programme (JSEP) graduate recruitment website is LIVE! You can now browse the profiles and CVs of our graduates and connect with them directly: www.bulungulacollege.org/recruitment. Our JSEP graduates...
SAPS Mounted Unit Arrive to Patrol Wild Coast
A significant and promising development is taking shape in response to the wave of crime along the Wild Coast. On Monday, 19 May 2025, the South African Police Service (SAPS) Mounted Unit began permanent patrols along the stretch of coastline from Coffee Bay to...
Happy Worker’s Day 🇿🇦
1 May is recognised internationally as Workers’ Day—a date to mark the role of workers in society and the legal protections established through organised labour. In South Africa, this public holiday has been observed since 1994 and acknowledges both the achievements...
“Change moves at the speed of trust”
In the world of development, there is often an expectation that progress should be quick and tangible. Projects are typically measured against short timelines, and funding cycles rarely allow for the slow, patient work that meaningful change often requires. As Stephen...
The Impact of Recent International Aid Cuts on Our Organisation and Community Health Initiatives
The recent United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) cuts in aid have prompted inquiries about their impact on our organisation and community. We were not receiving direct funding from USAID...
🚨Radio Competition: “Kwanele Ngobugebengu” – Enough with Crime!
Bulungula Community Radio invites all talented artists to take a stand against crime through music and poetry! 📅 Competition Dates: 1 April – 30 April 2025🏆 Winners Announced: First week of May 2025 – R1000 prizes in all categories!📻 Winning Entries: Will be played on...
How Bulungula College Achieved a 100% Mathematics Pass Rate: Lessons for Transforming Maths Education in Rural South Africa
The 2024 Bulungula College matric results were a proud moment for our community, with an impressive 98% pass rate. Among our greatest achievements was the dramatic improvement in Mathematics. In 2021, only 7% of our first matric class passed Mathematics. By 2023, this...
Strengthening ECD in Our Region: Establishing the Wild Coast ECD Community of Practice
Last year, we joined forces with our funder, Kamvalethu Foundation, and other organisations in our region—Jabulani Rural Health Foundation, Sustainable Coffee Bay, Educare Mpame and Layita Foundation—to establish the Wild Coast Early Childhood Development (ECD)...
Strengthening Our Infrastructure for Unpredictable Weather
The summer months bring the warm sunshine and much-needed rains for our gardens and fields. However, in recent years, the way rain falls has changed. Instead of steady showers spread over several days, we now experience short and extreme downpours (50mm per hour for a...
Bulungula College Achieves a 98% Matric Pass Rate and Earns Top Performing School in Region for the 3rd Consecutive Year!
We are thrilled to announce that Bulungula College has achieved an outstanding 98% Matric pass rate for 2024, with incredible results across all subjects: English: 100% Mathematics: 100% IsiXhosa: 100% Life Orientation: 100% Business Studies: 100% Physical Science:...
A look back at 2024
As we close out 2024, we celebrate another successful year of implementing projects and marking a big milestone: 20 years of impactful work in our community. While this year has brought its share of challenges, these “growing pains” have taught us valuable lessons and...